CCNA FAQs & Tips

CCNA is a long topic to talk about and there are many tips that can help you save much time when sitting in the exam hall. From the comments here and information from other places, this article tries to summarize all the CCNA frequently asked questions to save you some time. Please feel free to ask anything that you are unclear about CCNA so that all of us can help you. I will update this article frequently to bring you newest information about this exam.

1. Please tell me how many questions in the real CCNA exam, and how much time to answer them?

Until now, you have 90 minutes to answer 50 questions in the real CCNA exam but if your native language is not English, Cisco allows you a 30-minute exam time extension. But there are a few requirements to get this extension, so the best way is asking your teacher or mentor before taking the exam.

2. How much does the CCNA Exam 200-125 cost? And how many points I need to pass the exam?

It now costs $325 (big money, right?) :)

The passing score is 810/1000.

3. How many ways can I get the CCNA certification?

There are 2 ways to achieve this certification:

By taking two exams ICND-1 100-105 and ICND-2 200-105

By taking only one CCNA 200-125 exam

4. I got the CCNA certification, will this certification expire?

CCNA certification is valid for three years. To recertify, pass the ICND2 exam, or pass the current CCNA exam, or pass a CCNA Concentration exam (wireless, security, voice), or pass the current CCDA exam, or pass any 300 – XXX professional level or Cisco Specialist exam (excluding Sales Specialist exams), or pass a current CCIE or CCDE written exam.

5. After completing the INTRO exam (ICND 1), students currently have a three-year window in which to complete the ICND exam (ICND 2) to earn CCNA certification. Will this option still exist?

Yes, students will still be able to take and pass the first exam (INTRO or ICND1) and have a three-year window to pass the second exam (ICND2), before the first exam expires.

6. If students fulfill the exam requirements for the CCNA certification, will they also receive CCENT certification?

No, students who certify at the CCNA level will not earn CCENT certification. The purpose of the CCENT certification is to provide an option for those who aren’t ready for CCNA.

Well, Cisco doesn’t tell how many points you will get for each correctly solved sim but from my experience, you will get from 80 to 100 points for each sim. Cisco maybe is a bit rude for sims because you will just get a few points if you can’t solve the sim completely. So be careful with the sims and try to write all the commands on paper many times before taking this exam.

9. In the real exam, I clicked “Next” after choosing the answer, can I go back for reviewing?

The CCNA exam covers many aspects of networking and most of the topics will be asked. But the most important topic is subnetting so make sure you understand how to subnet. Of course other topics are important too so you shouldn’t bypass them.

11. Can I use short commands, for example “conf t” instead of “configure terminal”? Will I get full mark for short commands?

It is another big question in the CCNA exam. Some reports said that you can use the “Tab” and short commands but some said they didn’t work. Sometimes the simulator in the exam doesn’t accept short commands and marks as “incomplete command”. Besides, no one can guarantee it will cost points or not if you use short commands so my recommendation is you should learn the full commands.

12. What are your recommended materials for CCNA?

There are many options you can choose, but below are materials used and recommended by many candidates:

Books:

Cisco Discovery and Cisco Exploration study guide (used in Cisco Academy so there is no link)

The difference between CCNA Discovery and CCNA Exploration is “CCNA Discovery is designed for students with basic PC skills and can be delivered as an independent curriculum or integrated into broader courses of study at secondary schools, technical schools, colleges, and universities. CCNA Exploration is designed for students with advanced problem solving and analytical skills, such as those who are pursuing degrees in engineering, math, or science”. (Reference from “new CCNA faq”).

Video Training:

CBT Nuggets

Train Signal

Testout

From my point of view, these video are just optional materials and they cost much, you can definitely pass the CCNA exam without buying them. If you have strong budget and want to learn in a more comfortable way then buy them! (but it is difficult to pass if just listening to them without reading books, believe me!)

Simulators (luckily, they’re the best and free):

GNS 3 is really good and it uses real IOS so all the commands are available but these IOS are copyrighted so it is hard to get. Besides, GNS 3 needs much RAM to run so from my experience you should use the Router c2600 with 64MB RAM to run if your labs are simple (like assign IP addresses, hostname, RIP…). If you need to configure OSPF or EIGRP, use higher router. These two simulators are enough to practice labs for CCNA but if you want to learn about other simulators, check out my Free Router Simulators article. Packet Tracer is light, quick and convenient for common tasks but sometimes it doesn’t act like real devices. A good point of Packet Tracer is that Cisco has many good labs (.pkt files) to practice with.

Websites & Forums:

About Dumps…

If you use dumps like pass4sure, Testking or ActualTest… make sure you understand the concept behind each question. It’s a very big mistake if you just learn which answer is correct without understanding the concept. Notice that in the real CCNA exam, you will be given different IP addresses, subnets and more options to choose; so it is easier to understand them than to learn them by heart. Finally, my advice is you just should use dumps as a final review after finishing the CCNA course.
13. How much time should I spend on each sim?

You should not spend more than 15 minutes for each sim. Recall that you only have 90 minutes so if you spend 15 minutes for each sim x 4 sims = 60 minutes (now the sims have been reduced to 3 but we calculate 4 sims for safe). The 30 minutes left is for solving 40 multiple choice questions. If you are not a native English speaker and have 30-minute expansion (ask your teacher or testing center to confirm) than you can spend 20 minutes for each sim.

14. Can I pass without doing sims?

As mentioned above, each sim will cost you from 80 to 100 points. In the real exam you will have to solve 4 sims that give from 320 to 400 points. Suppose you answer all other questions perfectly then you will get 600 to 680 points but the passing score is 825. It means that you surely fail if ignore them.

From the calculation above, if you miss only one sim the chance to pass is average but if you miss two, the chance to pass is very, very low.

15. I need to know if the exam questions are the same in all the geographical locations?

Yes, the exam questions are the same in all geographical locations. But notice that Cisco has a pool of questions and each time you take the exam, a number of random questions will show up so you will not see all the same questions as the previous exam.

16. I am going to take the exam in a few days and I wonder can we have a pen and paper for IP calculations or calculator itself?

You are not allowed to bring a calculator or anything else to the exam room. You can’t use the virtual calculator in Windows, too. You will receive a rough paper or a small board to write everything you need during the exam. However, you should bring a pen or a pencil because sometimes the exam hall doesn’t have one (yes, some exam centers are not good) and maybe it will make you more comfortable.

17. I failed the exam. Will I see the same questions and sims in my next try?

Cisco has a pool of questions and sims so you will see some same (but surely not all) questions in your next exam. Luckily, the sims are the same (read question 7 for popular sims in the exam).

18. In the exam, how can I access to the routers in the simulator?

As you can see in the exam, there is always one PC connected to the router you need configure. Just click on this PC to be taken to the CLI of the router (no need to type telnet … or do anything else). Of course it is not true in real life but maybe Cisco did it that way to save you some time!

19. I am going to take the exam in a couple of days. Where can I get newest information from candidates who have just passed the exam?

You can visit the Share your CCNA Experience section in this site, scroll down to the bottom of that page to read newest information about CCNA exam.I really want to say thanks to all candidates who are willing to share experience after taking the exam. It is an invaluable gift for CCNA candidates.

21. I am going to get my CCNA exam and I have a question: in the drag and drop questions are the answers must be arranged?

It depends on the questions. If the question clearly states that you have to arrange the answers in a given order (for example, from smallest to greatest; from lowest to highest; step 1,2,3…) then you have to arrange them correctly. In most cases, you don’t need to arrange them so don’t worry and don’t try to learn the order shown in the materials you use before taking the exam.

22. Hi all, I want to ask if out of 5 questions in the sim 1 or 2 questions are answered wrongly, do we get 0 marks for that sim or get something for other correct answers?
You still get points for the parts you answered correctly so try to answer as much as possible for that sim.

23. Why don’t I see any questions and answers on 9tut.com? I only see the explanation…

@avinash: You should ask your friend as we don’t know where you are living. You can register the exam at most of the Cisco training centers.

ram

February 10th, 2011

could anybody pleas e tell the way for getting full version of visual cert suite.please tell me the ways.i searched for the serial for hours but i cant get it.please help me:)

RANI

February 11th, 2011

Presenltly which version of CCNA EXAM 640-802 v17.14 or 640-802 v 21.24 is going on.

Just another day

February 12th, 2011

If I passed from the exam how can I receive my ceritificate ?

Anonymous

February 13th, 2011

plz plz plzzzzzz answer……. im so tired from that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i spent much time for searching!!!
.Can one help me to tell me about free serial Key for visual certExam
it open only 5 question??or anyHelp related…!!! plz reply sooon
or wt i should do!!!
im afraid to be late for my exam!!!
Thanx n advance

ReR

February 13th, 2011

plz plz plzzzzz……. answer im so tired from that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i spent much time for searching!!!
.Can one help me to tell me about free serial Key for visual certExam
it open only 5 question??or anyHelp related…!!! plz reply sooon

or wt i should do!!!
im afraid to be late for my exam!!!
Thanx n advance

Hi,
please answer my question
do you think that only the quetions on 9tut can help pass the CCNA?
thanks for your reply

Avinash

February 14th, 2011

@scompilificateur i would say yes…..you can see only changes in ip address but still i think 1 should have some skills to understand the above listed labs…..workout above mentioned labs with different ip address…this will surely help you score….

scompilificateur

February 14th, 2011

thank you Avinash

Abas

February 16th, 2011

Can u tell me from which topic the simulation Question come for ICND-1 papar ?

kevinksu

February 19th, 2011

Hi,

Do i need any REAL equipment (router/switch) in order to pass?
Or books/video/SIMs (labs) should be enough for preparation?

If router/switch are needed for study then what is the lowest model and the least setup do i need? Trying to keep the cost low. Thank you.

akram rady

February 20th, 2011

i passed ccna exam today in Egypt by score 987/100 and sims are vtp-eigrp212-acl2

and there are two dumps are valid testinside 25may-2010 and actualtest-mashiti

just study one of them and 9tut you will pass

Bharat

February 21st, 2011

Thank you very much 9tut coz today I have passed ccna 640-802 with the 97.4%.
you helped me in my both simulation first one was eigrp and secound one was access list.

I will remember you when i will clear ccnp.
good bye…..

JKano

February 21st, 2011

@kevinksu

Please, you do not need to go so much far. To practice with the Real equipment is important for industrial application. But to understand the basic concept of configuration of switches and router, packet tracer is more than enough for you practice and efficiency. Just get Packet tracer 5.3 software, it is far more than enough for ccna level and its exam.

Best regards,
Jkano

kevinksu

February 21st, 2011

Thanks JKano. I will focus on just that.

catchy mind

February 22nd, 2011

Hi all
I am planning to give my CCNA exam by next week .could you plz send me the the latest dumps to catchymind@hotmail.com

Many thanks in advance

God Bless you all

Professional Advice

February 22nd, 2011

@kevinksu

If you still need more help for ccna exam preparation, I think, I could lead you to the right destination. Just be focused to know what you want.

Best of luck!

L4ZZ4

February 22nd, 2011

Hi All,

I’m studying CCNA Wireless – does anybody know where I can find any dumps for this exam?
Thanks,

Nish

February 22nd, 2011

Earlier i asked the same question, but everyone just ignored. bt im asking again,

When the table has multiple routes to the same place it always uses the most specific suffix. In this case it is the /29

9tut

February 26th, 2011

@nisha: I am a little busy now so I can’t answer all the comments. I am very sorry!

jacek

February 26th, 2011

Hi guys,

just for your information:

If for example you want to take the exam in English and English is not your first language, you are entitled for additional 30 minutes, but ONLY if you live in English-speaking country for no longer than last 3 years

That is a recent change to the rules… unfortunately

Regards

Anonymous

February 27th, 2011

hi any have lastest dumps

raejsh

March 4th, 2011

hi anybody have best sites name for CCSP >> for dumps , FAQs & practice like 9tut
if any one want to share this info plz. send it to me onrjdayalani@yahoo.com

Is it necessary to join any institute for ccna course to learn rather that to see training videos,reading book and learn dumps.

9tut

March 10th, 2011

@viplav: Yes, it is necessary to join an institute for CCNA as CCNA is the fundamental cert in the field of networking. Understanding it clearly will help you confident in your job.

My recommendation is you should take some time reading book (and watching videos if available) before taking the course because you will gain more knowledge than usual.

Abas

March 14th, 2011

i just go for registartion of ICND1 in karachi ( CAMS ) but they say that there is a change in the CISCO policy …!! i didnt understand why …!! they are saying you can registered after 1 week …!! inform me plz what is this .. i prepared all ..!! and now …. :! :(

Anonymous

March 14th, 2011

hey 9tut. i luv theite.. keep up the good worek……… passed exam in november 10….. i have a question… do u have a site like this for ccip?

zahid

March 15th, 2011

is ? allowed during the simulation and if we use it will it decrease some points?

Carlos

March 16th, 2011

Hi I’ve just read the questions. All the questions are very intersting and the page is awesome.

But I have a question yet, In the exam for the test questions that you have to choose multiple responses (2 o 3) if you are right in two reponses but you failed one , the points are 0?